Micropterix calthella

Reading my mate's Stew's blog Stewchat on list right hand side he was looking at Buttercup flowers and they were dotted with micro moths called Cocksfoot moth. There are thousands of Buttercups in flower at the moment around Morpeth but I didn't have time to look through the meadows today but along the woodland path of High House Lane woods I looked at the Buttercups there and they were dotted with a different micro moth called Micropterix calthella. I will be looking through the Buttercups over the next few days to see if I can find more or other species.

Fodder Burnet

Fodder Burnet

Hare's Tail Cottongrass

Pegswood Moor is a good place to look for plants though many have established themselves on poor soils around the main lake from seed mixes during restoration work of this former opencast coal site. I have not come across Fodder Burnet (Poterium sanguisorba ssp balearicum), formerly Sanguisorba minor ssp muricata before but there are hundreds of thousands of these plants in flower now mainly on the South and western shore of the lake. Another species established here is Hare's Tail Cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum) which appears to like former opencast sites in the lowlands away from its regular haunt of upland bogs. It is not the best place for bird sightings generally but always worth checking but recent sightings include hunting Long eared owl, Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge warbler and Yellow wagtail.